


those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now

by nosecoffee



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, Angst, Based on Afterlife With Archie, He could murder me and I'd say thanks, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jealousy, Mild Horror, Mild Magical Realism, Minor Character Death, Multi, References to unfeatured characters, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, Zombie AU, Zombie Apocalypse, again I'm sorry, ambiguous ending, blame, for kicks, future sight, i love Jughead so much, im sorry, my dudes, you know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 00:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10686432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nosecoffee/pseuds/nosecoffee
Summary: "I can't believe he's gone."Years later, Archie still dreams of Jughead, of the way he was before. He still remembers how they'd laugh at the idea of zombies, how they'd lived."Believe it. It's real."





	those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now

**Author's Note:**

> Title from 'Forever Autumn' by Justin Hayward
> 
> I've been meaning to post this for a while, but stuff happened and I got involved in a wedding (oops, not oops, it was hella cute) so here we are.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

"I can't believe he's gone."

~

_Years later, Archie still dreams of Jughead, of the way he was before._

_He still remembers how they'd laugh at the idea of zombies, how they'd lived._

_He still remembers when it all went to hell -_ only hours ago, though it feels like centuries _\- remembers when he last saw Jughead, before everything._

_Still remembers Betty tugging on his arm as he stared at what used to be his best friend, stumbling towards him, up the road._

_Still remembers the way he had to clamp his hand over Veronica's mouth to stop her from screaming as they hid behind the counter at Pop's._

~

"Believe it. It's real."

Archie clutches the wheel tight.

He doesn't want to have to think about the carnage they just drove away from.

"Please," he whispers, "don't."

"Archie, we all lost someone, so don't play the 'I'm the only fucking victim here' angle-" Veronica snaps, from where she's wedged between him and Betty, arms crossed.

"Veronica!" Betty scolds, whipping around to look at her, tear stained face contorted with frustration, and fear, and sorrow. "Just don't."

Veronica huffs, eyes and nose red. "Fine."

~

_The scuffling sound of sneakers against the linoleum floors of the diner still echoed in his ears at night, and neon red lights still made him squeeze his eyes shut and remind himself that he's not there anymore._

_Jughead - young with a missing tooth, teenaged and gaunt, dead and stumbling - was burned, tattooed, printed into the back of his eyelids._

_Jughead, the boy he couldn't save-_

~

"I hate to be the one to do this, but can we turn on the radio?"

There's blood on Veronica's cheek, drying, from the cut high on her face, by her ear. She doesn't seem to notice. It's a stark reminder, to Archie, of what they just ran away from.

"Be my guest." Archie replies, teeth clenched to keep from grinding them.

There's some random vaguely-dub step song playing through the speakers of the pick up within seconds, though Veronica turns it down a little, with a apologetic look on her face, when she sees him flinch.

There's an uncomfortable silence between the trio for a few minutes, enough for the radio station to change the song two more times.

"I'm so sorry." Betty whispers, breaking it. Archie feels tears well in his eyes and breathes in harshly through his nose. "It's not your fault."

"Of course it is." He replies, feeling his blood go sluggish in his veins, a sour taste at the back of his throat.

"There's nothing you could have done." Veronica says, and puts a hand on his elbow.

Archie shrugs her off, carefully.

Stares ahead, blindly, in the hopes of forgetting.

~

_Archie even remembers how it started, and, of course, it's all his fault. Because he was jealous. Of course he was jealous. He thought if he found a break in the case he could be the centre of Jughead's attention once more, like before._

_Except he was an idiot._

_He sped over to the Sunnydale Trailer Park, just in time to run over Jughead's beloved dog._

_Jughead hadn't been there, no one had. There were no witnesses. If he lied to Jughead about who killed Hot Dog, well, maybe he'd still have a chance at winning Jughead's favour._

_God, he was so selfish, carrying Hot Dog's body over to the Jones trailer._

_And Betty had gasped and Jughead had stopped breathing for a moment, eyes wide with something unreadable._

_All thought of lying left his brain almost immediately. Archie couldn't bare it, so he croaked out,_ "I'm so sorry," _and that was the end of it._

~

"Archie?" Betty's voice is timid, from the other side of the cab, like she had been reliving the same moment in her brain.

"What?" Archie replies, glancing over to her.

"There's someone on the road." And Betty points, and there is, in fact, a figure standing in the middle of their lane, arm extended in front of them, fingers splayed apart, palm exposed.

Archie steps on the brakes so hard that everyone lurches forward.

He looks up through the windshield and his eyes widen. He's out in a matter of seconds, out onto the road and pulling the figure into his arms.

"What are you doing here? It's not safe - Riverdale -"

"It's all your fault!" The figure cries and pushes him away from her. Jellybean is wearing practically pyjama's, with one of Jughead's furry-hood jumpers over it. Her feet are bare and her face is tear-stained and contorted with grief and rage. "This never would have happened if it weren't for you!"

"Jellybean - what - I don't-" Archie splutters and then Betty's there, on her already scraped-up knees in front of the girl, pulling her into a careful hug.

"What are you doing out here? It's not safe." She touches Jellybean's face with the tips of her fingers.

~

_"Dad."_

_"Forsythia? What's going on? It's four in the morning."_

_"I need you to come to grammy and grandpa's house right now. I need your help."_

_"With what?"_

_"Just do it, dad."_

~

"I got mom to pull over and drop me here. Then I told her to call the Sheriff." Jellybean informs them. "We saw it happen." She says this pointedly to Archie.

"What were you doing in Riverdale?" This is Veronica, sitting on the edge of the bench of the pickup, looking tense.

Jellybean sags. "I came to stop him. I came to stop Jughead. By the time I arrived. It was too late." She shakes her head, staring at the asphalt of the road.

"How did you know he was going to do that?" Archie questions and Jellybean's head snaps up. Her eyes are wide.

"It's gonna sound crazy - and you probably won't believe me, dad didn't - but I can see into the future." Veronica and Betty share a look, but Archie keeps staring at the girl before them, eyes as so similar to her brother's, hair just as black, face just as gaunt. "I saw him do it. I've tried to change things before, and it didn't work. I don't know why I thought I could do anything now." She sighs, deeply. "It's why I'm here. I saw you guys pulling over and helping me. I saw myself explain."

"Explain what?" Archie demands, bewildered and confused.

Jellybean looks him dead in the eye. "That I killed Jason Blossom."

~

_"What have you done?"_

_"Dad-"_

_"What have you done, Forsythia?"_

_"I thought he was Archie."_

_"You thought he was - you shot Jason Blossom dead because you thought he was Archie Andrews?"_

_"Listen, it's confusing."_

_"It sure as hell is-"_

_"Keep it down! I can't get anyone else involved!"_

_"You're telling me you murdered a boy, thinking it was someone else, and you've enlisted me to help you get rid of the body?"_

_"That's exactly what I'm telling you, now shut your cake hole and help me."_

~

Betty seems frozen. Like she can't believe the killer she's been trying to track for the last month or so turned out to be her partner's little sister.

Veronica is gaping at Jellybean.

Archie swallows, hard. "You - _what?"_ He whispers.

Jellybean inhales unsteadily, closes her eyes. "I killed Jason Blossom," she repeats and opens her eyes again, "and the only reason I did it is because I thought he was you, Archie."

It's another bombshell, but it doesn't really hit him quite as hard as the former one, because, well, Archie's never even comprehended that Jellybean could be capable of murder.

"What?" Veronica cries, jumping out of the cab and immediately shouts in pain as her heels go sliding out from under her. Betty lurches towards Veronica, crumpled on the ground.

"Fuck," Veronica spits and pulls them off. God knows how she'd gotten as far as she did today with them on. "No, Betty, don't worry about me."

She scowls at Jellybean who looks calmer than she did standing in the middle of the road.

"Kid, did you just admit to murder, and then justify it by saying you only did it because you wanted to kill Archie?" Veronica demands. Betty watches the proceedings with wide eyes, hands around Veronica's forearms to keep her steady.

Archie's still running on adrenaline and shock. The idea of Jellybean Jones, murdering someone thinking it was him hardly registers at all through the shock of Jughead's sudden death.

"Yes." Jellybean replies, calm despite the redness of her nose, and the shiny tracks her tears made on her cheeks. "I shot Jason Blossom down in my street with my grandfathers shot gun, in the middle of the night, because I thought he was Archie. I had every reason to believe he was Archie, anyway. Jason was supposed to be dead at the bottom of the river, not running through the streets of Greendale, in the middle of the night, very much alive."

~

_"You do understand that this makes you a criminal, right?"_

_"No, dad, I thought I was a_ goddamn Saint."

_"Calm it, Sythia."_

_"How can I? I just murdered someone! And it gets worse, because I didn't even want to kill him! I was just trying to help everyone!"_

_"How could killing Archie fucking Andrews help anyone? That kid has more good in his little finger than I do in my whole body."_

_"That's not exactly hard."_

_"You watch your mouth. One felony has already been committed tonight, don't make it two."_

_"Are you threatening me?"_

_"More or less."_

_"No wonder mom left you."_

_"Yeah. No wonder."_

~

Archie breathes in deeply.

"Get into the backseat, Betty go with her. I'll get Veronica into the front, don't worry. We can't stay here, it's not safe."

"Archie-" Veronica growls in protest, but Archie's already lifting her back up into the cab. He picks up her heels and puts them in the footwell before slamming the door.

Jellybean looks suddenly conflicted. "Archie, let me explain."

"Not now," Archie shakes his head, helping Betty to her feet. "When we're somewhere safe there'll be time to explain. For now, just get in the car."

Betty and Jellybean comply and Archie climbs into the front of the idling car. There isn't much gas left.

He hopes they can make it to Greendale before it runs out.

~

_"I saw him, dad. I know you don't really believe me about the future-sight-thing, but I saw him. And I saw him cause the apocalypse."_

_"The apocalypse?"_

_"Yeah. Archie's gonna run over Hot Dog. Jughead's gonna be distraught and go to a witch for help to bring him back. Hot Dog, undead after the witch's spell, will bite Jughead, therefore, Archie is the catalyst."_

_"You have quite the imagination-"_

_"Do you really want to dismiss me after I put a corpse in the trunk of your car?"_

_"Fair. Let's just get rid of it and go to bed."_

~

"You really wanted to help, didn't you?" It's night now, and he doesn't know when that happened.

Betty and Veronica are asleep. Jellybean appears wide awake in his rear view mirror.

"What?"

"The reason you went to see him, that day, you just wanted to help. You were jealous."

"I guess." There's no point in hiding anything. It's not like Jughead will know. Or his father, or the football team-

By now, Archie assumes, tears he didn't know he was holding back beginning to drip down his cheeks, his father is dead.

Valerie is dead.

Kevin, and Cheryl, and Reggie are all dead.

_Jughead._

"I'm sorry."

"I wish it was me that you shot. It would have been so much easier if it was me."

"Yeah. Not much we can do about it now."

"How much farther to Greendale?"

"A few more miles."

There's a silence - well not quite, as the hum of the car continues and the quiet dubstep on the radio plays on - and Archie stares out the windshield, gaze hard.

"Do you think we'll be able to stop it?" Asks Veronica, very quietly.

"I don't know. I do know that we'll be stopping off very quickly in Greendale, and then head off towards the coast."

"Why the coast?"

"Dad kept our emergency stash in the glovebox. I'm getting us out of here."

"Really?"

"Yeah. There's no way we're staying here while there's zombies in Riverdale."

"It's not the weirdest thing that's happened there."

~

_Archie still dreams of Jughead, how he was before._

_Jellybean doesn't really blame him anymore, or so she tells him, when they meet again, seven years later, in Chicago._

_Betty and Veronica found comfort in each other, he finds out, after he dropped them off in Greendale and ran off to the coast for a few months._

_They know that whatever happened in Riverdale was stopped quickly, that it was over within days of the authorities stepping in, that those who could be saved were and those who couldn't were destroyed._

_(Archie doesn't ever think about what that means for Jughead, or, at least, what used to be him.)_

_They're allowed to go back. None of them do._

_Betty and Veronica are still in Greendale about three weeks after the outbreak when some refugees from Riverdale arrive and Hermione and Polly appear, alive and well, after hiding in the Pembrooke._

The two girls are overjoyed.

_It's a small respite from the grief._

_They don't forget, but they don't remember all that much either._

_Jellybean still gets visions, but none quite as large as the one that drove her to kill Jason Blossom, she tells Archie._

_They don't tell anyone about that either._

_They don't tell anyone about a lot of things, after._

_Archie's okay with that, so long as he gets to keep remembering Jughead how he was, before._

**Fin.**

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, please feel free to leave a comment and/or a kudos, and track me down on Tumblr @nose-coffee.
> 
> If you'd like some quality fanfiction to read, look no further than the works by @oopsiwroteathing, @angeburger, @Lyxxie, and @nimmieamee. They're all really great.
> 
> Again, thank you.


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